


Counting Socks and Writing to Santa

by Unused_username



Series: Jin is a Single Dad, the Rest is Unrelated [1]
Category: EXO (Band), 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Alternate Universe - Parents, Babysitter Kim Jongin, Dad Kim Seokjin, Gen, Kim Taehyung | V Is a Sweetheart, Light Angst, Set in LA, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, also he's literally four in this, based on my own babysitting adventures, but its really vague
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-10
Updated: 2018-01-10
Packaged: 2019-03-03 04:42:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,372
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13333731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Unused_username/pseuds/Unused_username
Summary: Kim Jongin had had a long, long week, but his mood changes after he he spends just a few hours babysitting Kim Seokjin's adorable son.OrThanks to Kim Taehyung and his dad, a boy struggling to find his way is given a much needed dose of optimism for his future.





	Counting Socks and Writing to Santa

**Author's Note:**

> I babysit a really adorable kid and she had me write a letter to santa for her, and after reading through it I decided that a little Taehyung would probably write the same thing. The rest of this kinda just happened around it.
> 
> Special thanks to Trin, my literal voice of reason. Thanks for reading the 2394309483 different wordings I had for the intro, and for telling me when it was time to seriously leave it alone and just use it.

Kim Jongin had had a long, long week. The new year had brought some welcome and unwelcome changes, as usual, and trying to get back into his schedule with those changes was just, frankly, a nightmare. He had had a solid 8 hours of sleep last night, but at his core, he was still exhausted. College planning was getting increasingly more stressful, and his parents... whatever. Point is, he wasn't having a great time lately. 

He knew he'd at least have fun tonight though. 

vvv

After parking his car, he walked up to an apartment complex and knocked on the door. Immediately there was a commotion, followed by a small voice yelling "Come in! Come in!" He grinned and opened the door, and was greeted with an armful (well, more like a legful) of Kim Taehyung, his favorite 4-year-old, with his father, Seokjin, in tow. 

"Hey buddy, what's up?" He asked, smiling. 

"I've got macaroni, and nuggets, and ketchup! And apple juice!" Stated Taehyung proudly, marching back over to the table and taking a bite of his noodles with a flourish. 

"I can see that, it looks yummy, Taetae," Jongin chuckled, then turned to Seokjin. 

"Okay. So if he finishes that, he can have a _small_ bowl of strawberry ice cream, it's in the freezer right here," the taller man said. 

Taehyung visibly brightened at that, digging into his dinner even more enthusiastically, and Jongin grinned, heart almost bursting at how adorable the kid was. Seokjin grinned too, and bustled out of the room to finish getting ready. In his short absence, Taehyung took the opportunity to tell Jongin about his cousin, Jungkook, that he met over the holidays. Seeing Jongin was a willing listener, he launched into great detail on what he learned from his grandpa about being a “hyung,” then going on to tell him about all of the Korean dishes his grandma made, and how he got to speak Korean with someone besides is dad. 

“You can speak Korean with me too, Taehyung-ah,” Jongin said in Korean, smiling at the way that Taehyung’s face lit up, but frowning when he saw his small eyebrows scrunched together. 

“You can’t call me Taehyung,” the toddler said with a pout. 

Jongin’s eyes went wide. “Why?” 

“Because you’re hyung, not me. You can call me Taetae but that’s it, okay Jongin-hyung?” 

Jongin stifled a smile and nodded solemnly. “Okay. Deal, Taetae.” At that, the boy continued eating his dinner happily, making zooming noises as he dunked the chicken nuggets into the ketchup. Later that night, while laying in bed, Jongin wouldn’t be able to pinpoint quite just why, but a lump formed in his throat while watching the little dude eat his dinner. He wanted to protect this kid from everything. _Maybe this is what being a parent is like,_ he thought idly as he took a shaky breath. 

"Hey, Jongin, you doing okay?" Seokjin asked over Taehyung's head after he returned with a layer of tinted lip gloss, a subtle scent of cologne, and much less subtle silver jewelry adorning features that weren’t there before. 

"It's nice to be here," was all he replied with, not trusting himself to say much else. 

Seokjin gave a small, understanding smile in return. "You can always text me, kid, and if you need to talk when I get back you know I'm happy to do so," he said gently, somehow keeping his serious tone and train of thought intact even with Taehyung, who had been using him like a jungle gym since he had returned. Suddenly, a goofy expression took over his face. "Hey, I bet I'll give Jongin a big ol' hug before you can," he challenged the toddler, who squealed and promptly launched his tiny body at Jongin. 

Jongin laughed genuinely, now engulfed in two hugs, one miniature and one oversized, thanks to the Kims. His heart felt full. In the tiny little apartment, the two Kims had cultivated such a strong sense of love and companionship that Jongin would trade it for his family's large house (pool included) any day. But for now, he just hugged back with all his might. 

After they pulled away, Jongin wiggled his eyebrows at Seokjin. "You're awfully dolled up," he said slyly. "I’m sure Mr. Tongue Technology is gonna love that." 

Seokjin rolled his eyes in the way only Seokjin could, and let out such a large, long-suffering sigh that Jongin was afraid he’d run out of air. "For the last time, call him Yoongi. You're just jealous that I have more game than you, punk." 

"Whatever you say, old man," retorted Jongin. 

vvv

After Seokjin left, Taehyung promptly came up with at least 50 different ideas on what they could play with. Jongin was afraid that the kid’s tongue might fall off if he started another sentence with “Jongin-hyung,” but he was so happy to be using honorifics “cause I’m a real Korean boy if I use them” that he couldn’t find it in himself to be annoyed. 

Playtime was quite eventful. After giving Jongin a makeover that consisted of a necklace too small for him, a Batman cape, and a Spiderman sticker on the middle of his chest, Taehyung deemed him fit to go to school with him. School time only consisted of eating a very short lunch, though, the whole thing being derailed by spotting some monopoly money and playing a Taetae version of go-fish with it. Taehyung won. Jongin didn’t mind one bit as he watched the toddler do his victory dance. 

As it always did with Tae, the playtime soon morphed into drawing time. But, before Jongin could draw a single thing, a tiny finger poked him on the wrist. He looked up to Taehyung’s big, trusting eyes. 

“Jongin-hyung?” 

“Yes, Taetae?” 

“I want to write a letter to Santa so he knows I didn’t forget him after Christmas was over, but I can’t write. Will you write it?” 

Jongin smiled. “Of course, bud!” 

Taehyung cheered, then took a deep breath. He paused, then looked at Jongin. “Wait, are you ready?” 

“Yes, all systems operational, captain,” Jongin replied in a goofy voice, positioning his pencil dramatically. Taehyung giggled, took another deep breath, then began. 

(Taehyung spoke rather quickly, and once Jongin filled the paper with words the toddler deemed it finished, so it cut off abruptly and didn’t have everything on it. Regardless, Jongin still thought the whole thing was adorable.) 

vvv

Soon it was nearing 7:30, so Jongin finally gave in to Taehyung’s begging to watch 101 Dalmatians. He was a little restless, and almost seemed like he was going to lose interest as the beginning credits played, but once the actual movie started he settled down on his mini beanbag chair. Breathing a small sigh of relief, Jongin took the opportunity to wash the dinner dishes. He wanted to remain Seokjin’s favorite babysitter, after all. He was in the middle of straightening up Taehyung’s room when light footsteps made him look up. 

“Jongin-hyung, can you give me some snuggs while we watch the movie?” 

Jongin smiled. “Here, why don’t I pause the movie, then I can get you in your jammies and brush your teeth, then we can be super cozy to snuggle.” 

The pajamas went on relatively easy, but teeth brushing was a struggle. Kids aren’t perfect, after all. First attempt, the water on his toothbrush wasn’t cold enough. Second attempt, it was too cold. Third attempt, Taehyung spit out the (bubblegum flavored) toothpaste, claiming it to be “too spicy.” The fourth attempt was marginally successful, thankfully and, his teeth were deemed clean enough for Jongin. Sufficiently prepared for bed, the duo returned to the movie, Taehyung climbing onto Jongin’s lap where he sat on the couch. 

“I’m not going to bed without appa, am I?” Taehyung asked in a small voice, and Jongin’s heart swelled. He didn’t have to worry about disappointing the small boy in his lap, however, because Seokjin was lax about bedtime and actually preferred to tuck in his kid, no matter how late he came home. It was such a refreshing change from the other parents he babysat for. 

“No, unless you feel really tired and you want to,” Jongin replied, and Taehyung seemed satisfied. 

vvv

Seokjin came home around nine. By this point, the movie was over, and Jongin and Taehyung were just watching the opening animation on loop. How Taehyung had been entertained with that for the past 9 minutes was beyond Jongin, but he didn’t question it. While he attempted to contain the Lego mess from one of their earlier activities, he talked with Taehyung about the characters appearing on the screen, picking his favorite and letting the younger pick his. And of course, Taehyung’s favorite character had blue socks, and, “I have blue socks too, I’ll show you Jongin-hyung!” 

Thus, their sock counting excursion began, but it was promptly cut short at the sound of the front door opening. Taehyung’s wide eyes locked with Jongin’s then he was bolting out of his room and into Seokjin’s arms. 

“Appa, I didn’t get ice cream,” was the first thing that came out of his mouth after kisses and hugs were given. 

“Well, did you finish your dinner?” Seokjin replied in a goofy voice. 

Taehyung deflated at that. “No,” came the quiet reply. 

“How much did he eat?” Seokjin asked Jongin, cradling a now much more subdued but nonetheless clingy Tae. 

“He had one nugget and maybe a third of his noodles left.” 

“Well since Jongin-hyung is here, I think we can make an exception. I’ll go ahead and let you have _one_ bite of ice cream.” 

That seemed to bring the boy back from the dead. He dropped down from Seokjin’s arms in a flash and ran over to sit down at the table. His little socked feet wiggled happily, and he didn’t seem to know whether to hook them on the chair or swing them. In the end he settled for hooking one and swinging the other while his father got out a spoon and the ice cream. 

“Oh my god you angel, you washed the dishes again. You didn’t even make half of those dishes dirty!” Seokjin exclaimed. 

“It’s no big deal,” Jongin said. _Yes, it is a big deal, I hate doing dishes but I love your kid please always ask me to babysit oh my god-_

“So how did it go?” Seokjin asked, eating a bite or two of ice cream for himself, to the protests of Tae. 

“It went amazing! We played school, go fish, Legos, and oh, I got a makeover, as you can see, and we watched 101 Dalmatians. His favorite character had blue socks so we counted all of his blue socks, that’s why we were in his room when you came in.” 

Seokjin cooed, finally feeding Taehyung a bite of ice cream. “You always do the most, oh my god.” 

Jongin blushed and mumbled a thank you, then changed the subject. “By the way, have something to show you. Taehyung wanted to write a letter to Santa so he wouldn’t feel sad about Christmas ending, here.” 

He offered the paper to Seokjin, who took in the sheer length of the letter with wide eyes. “Oh my god this is so precious oh my god! Here, read it out loud, I don’t feel like finding my glasses.” Jongin was about to reply when Seokjin looked at him sharply and cut him off. “Don’t you dare call me an old man, its genetics. I’ve had this issue since I was eighteen.” 

Jongin raised his hands in mock surrender, then picked up the letter and began to read. 

_“Santa, I’m going to bring you tap shoes, except you like bringing me presents. You brought me a boy who loves me, Jungkook, and he will be close in my heart, like appa. I love appa, appa loves me. Santa is nice, and he brings me gifts and he likes me, but he doesn’t like the girls who are mean. Or the boys who are mean, like Kook. He’s mean, but he’s nice in his heart, but he’s a bit of a bully, but he’s good but he’s a bully. If you want to be nice to each other, you can ride bikes, play guitar, give a hug, you can wear scarves, have mirrors, kitchens, have some curtains and have some princess lamps- WOAH! You’re writing a lot! -we can be eating breakfast and have our favorite numbers to count down, we can have a fun time and go out, have some hair and have some magic cream bars, and if were nice we can have that. We can have phones, we all can have tissues, we all can have cows and money and blankets, we can all be family, we can play play play and have fun all the time, and if we have a bed that isn’t too big, we can_ -And then it kind of cuts off because I filled the page and Taetae wanted that to be the end of the letter,” Jongin explained, then looked up. Seokjin was looking at Taehyung with so much love, Jongin could almost see it coming off in waves towards the boy. The strange lump was back in his throat. 

Seokjin turned towards Jongin, eyes shining slightly. “Thank you so much, I’m 100% framing this,” he said, then slipped $20 in Jongin’s hand for payment and brought Jongin in for a tight hug. 

"Alright, tell Jongin goodnight!" Seokjin said to Taehyung, who promptly stood up in his chair and jumped straight into Jongin's arms for a hug. Jongin let out a small "oof" but succeeded in catching him, wrapping him up in his arms fondly. After halfheartedly reprimanding his kid for jumping on Jongin, Seokjin ended up joining the hug. 

Kim Jongin had had a long, long week, but after experiencing a little slice of what all families should be at the Kim's, he felt strong enough to face anything. 

As he drove home, instead of thinking about the harsh words, confusion and animosity coming from his family, he thought instead that maybe, one day, it wouldn't be so bad to start a family of his own.

**Author's Note:**

> See a pic of the original letter on my [Twitter](https://twitter.com/chogihwall/status/951218333260697600)
> 
> Also pls follow my twitter I made it 2 days ago and it needs love


End file.
